Method and apparatus for confining and collecting oil leakage

ABSTRACT

An expansible oil collector and method for isolating oil escaping from an underwater source. The collector is in the form of a buoyant ring with an anchor ring suspended below the buoyant ring by cables. A thin, flexible wall or shield interconnects the anchor ring with the buoyant ring. When the collector is positioned over an underwater source of oil leakage, the anchor ring is lowered by means of the cables on the buoyant ring until the anchor ring rests on the underwater surface and encircles the source of leakage. The fluid collects at the surface of the water in the interior of the buoyant ring.

0 United States Patent [151 3,6 Crucet [451 Apr. 4, 1972 54 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR 3,389,559 6/1968 Logan ..61/1 CONFINING AND COLLECTING OIL23 3 9 2 shurleff 6 16 L E 3,4 ,40 19 9 Low l EAK 843,822 2/1907Jennings ..114/105 [72] Inventor: Arturo M. Crucet, Oklahoma City, Okla.3,548,605 12/1970 Paull et al. 61/46 X h 3,561,220 2/1971 Riester.......61/34 [73] ggz gzggfig gi 3,289,415 12/1966 Merrill ..61/1

{22] Filed: June 4, 1969 Primary Examiner-Jacob Shapiro pp No 830 276Attorney-Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis [57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl..61/1, 61/ 34, 221100//122412, An expansible Oil collector and methodfor isolating on escap ing from an underwater source. The collector isin the form of "Eozb 15/ g g 2 4 28 5 a buoyant ring with an anchor ringsuspended below the 1 buoyant ring by cables. A thin, flexible wall orshield interconnects the anchor ring with the buoyant ring. When thecollector is positioned over an underwater source of oil leakage, the[56] References cued anchor ring is lowered by means of the cables onthe buoyant UNITED STATES PATENTS ring until the anchor ring rests onthe underwater surface and encircles the source of leakage. The fluidcollects at the sur- 3,599,434 8/1971 Mlssud ..61/1 A f ofthe water inthe interior f the buoyant ring 2,908,141 10/1959 Marsh, Jr.. ..61/46.5X 3,230,967 1/1966 Castro... ..61/.5 X 12 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures If:llfIoVZJffjl I ll.

a 1 far) a I b 0 o M4472)? t. C 24 I c 24- l METHOD AND APPARATUS FORCONFINING AND COLLECTING OIL LEAKAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to fluid recovery, and more particularly, to apparatusfor isolating leakage fluid in a body of water.

A great deal of effort is being spent on producing oil from formationsthat are located under bodies of water. During the completion andproduction of wells underwater, there is a risk that substantialquantities of oil will leak from the formation through the sand into thebody of water, or leakage will occur around the well head, or at someother underwater location. The loss of oil due to leakage not onlyrepresents a loss of revenue, but also causes pollution of the sea waternearby. The oil may also wash up on the shore, making the beachunsightly and causing injury to wildlife.

Efforts have been made to isolate the oil leaking from an underwatersource, but typically these efforts have been directed to confining theoil at the surface, rather than preventing the stream of oil from beingdeflected laterally by underwater currents. If the current is strongenough or the depth great enough, the oil may be carried substantialdistances from any oil recovery apparatus that is located at thesurface.

Another deficiency of previously proposed apparatus for recovering orconfining oil leakage is the amount of time required for installing theapparatus at the required location. Very often, leakage occursunexpectedly and it is necessary to take action promptly before largequantities of oil are accumulated on the surface of the water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of this inventionto provide apparatus for isolating and confining oil leakage from anunderwater source which is unaffected by underwater currents.

It is a further object of the invention to provide oil leakage recoveryapparatus which may be quickly positioned over a source of leakage, andrapidly placed in operation.

A still further object of this invention is to provide oil recovery andisolation apparatus which is readily adjustable for various depthsofwater.

These objects are accomplished in accordance with a preferred embodimentof the invention by a buoyant ring and an anchor ring which areconnected together by means of cables spaced around the circumference ofthe buoyant ring. The cables are connected with a hoist device forraising and lowering the anchor ring relative to the buoyant ring. Aflexible sheet material is secured between the bottom of the buoyantring and the top of the anchor ring. The sheet extends around thecircumference of both rings to form a tubular shield or container. Theanchor ring may be made temporarily buoyant for floating the deviceprior to installation over a source of leakage. The anchor ring alsoincludes an annular channel for receiving the flexible sheet material.The channel protects the sheet material when the device is not in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS This preferred embodiment isillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, partially in cross section, of the isolationdevice of this invention installed over a source of oil leakage;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the isolation device,showing the anchor partially lowered;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the isolation device;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, along the line 44 in FIG. 2, showingthe anchor ring;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view as in FIG. 2, but showing the anchorring in raised position;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modified anchor ring in accordancewith this invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of the isolationdevice with means for trapping gas.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the oilisolation device of 2 includes a buoyant ring 4 and an anchor ring 6.The buoyant ring 4, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is in the shape of ahollow torus and the interior of the ring 4 provides sufficient buoyancyto maintain both the float ring 4 and the anchor ring 6 at water levelwhen the anchor ring 6 is raised to the position shown in FIG. 5.

A platform 7 is supported on the float ring 4 by radial arms 8. A primemover 10, such as a gasoline engine, is mounted on the platform 7 and isconnected through a power transmission 12 to the drum of a winch 14. Aplurality of cables 16 are wound on the winch l4 and extend throughguides 18 over the outer perimeter of the ring 4.

The anchor ring 6 is also in the shape of a hollow torus and has tubularcable guides 20 spaced at unifonn intervals around the circumference ofthe ring. These guides 20 are generally U-shaped as shown in FIG. 2.Each cable 16 passes through a guide 20 and extends upwardly from theinterior of the ring 6. The end of each cable 16 is secured to a bracket22 on the interior of the float ring 4. By this arrangement, the anchorring 6 may be raised or lowered relative to the float ring 4 byoperating the winch 14 to change the length of the cables 16 supportingthe anchor ring 6.

A tubular shield or barrier 24, which is open at opposite ends isconnected at its upper end with the float ring 4. The connection isaccomplished by looping the end of the shield 24 over a circular bar 26and securing the bar 26 to the ring 4 by clamps 28. The clamps 28 arepositioned at suitable intervals around the circumference of the floatring 4 on the underside of the ring 4.

The lower end of the shield 24 is attached around the circumference ofthe anchor ring 6 by means of a clamping ring 30, as shown in FIG. 4.The ring 30 clamps the flexible material of the shield 24 against theouter surface of the anchor ring 6. The ring 30 is held in place byscrews 32 which are spaced apart along the ring 30.

A channel is provided on the upper side of the anchor ring 6 by a pairof concentric cylindrical walls 34 and 36 (FIG. 2). The space betweenthe walls 34 and 36 above the ring 6 is provided for storage of theshield 24 when the anchor 6 is raised to the position shown in FIG. 5.

The anchor ring 6 also has a plurality of openings 38 on the lower sideof the ring allowing fluid communication to the interior of the ring 6.On the upper side of the ring 6, there are filling holes 40 at spacedintervals around the ring 6. The holes 40 are tapped to receive threadedplugs 42 (FIG. 5) when the ring 6 is filled with air and the plugs 42are applied over the openings 40, the air pressure in the interior ofthe ring prevents water from entering through the vent opening 38 andthe ring thus provides additional buoyance for the float ring 4. Whenthe plugs 42 are removed, however, air in the interior of the anchorring 6 is released and the ring 6 is no longer buoyant.

In operation, the isolation device shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 initially hasthe anchor ring 6 drawn up to the position shown in FIG. 5 by means ofthe cables 16. The anchor ring 6 has the plugs 42 in place over theopenings to trap air in the anchor ring and the shield 24 is folded intothe channel which is disposed between the float ring and the anchor ring6. When the device is positioned over a source of oil leakage which isindicated schematically at 44 in FIG. 1, the motor 10 is operated tounwind the cables 16 from the winch drum, thereby lowering the anchorring 6 sufficiently to allow removal of the plugs 42. Water then entersthe interior of the anchor ring 6 through the vent openings 38. Theweight of the ring 6 is supported by the cables 16. The anchor ring islowered by means of the cables until it reaches the underwater surfaceindicated generally at 46 and surrounds the source 44 of the oilleakage. Of course, it is not necessary for the anchor ring 6 to rest onthe surface 46, but the ring 6 should be located at a depth that is atleast as great as the depth of the source of oil leakage. Sufficientlength of shield 24 is provided to allow operation at various depths andthe remaining, unused portion of the shield is stored within the channelbetween the cylindrical plates 34 and 36. The float ring 4 is supportedon the surface of the water indicated at 48. The shield 24 acts as aconduit for conducting the oil to the surface at the opening in the ring4. The flow of oil upwardly is unaffected by underwater currents becauseof the presence of the shield 24. The oil is accumulated on top of thewater surface 48 and within the central opening in the ring 4. A layerof oil is indicated at 50 in FIG. 1. Typically, the rings 4 and 6 may beof the order of 20 to 40 feet in diameter and the rings may be storedunder a drilling barge with the drill stem passing through the center ofthe rings 4 and 6 in order to be readily available for use, if an oilleak should develop.

A modified form of the anchor ring is illustrated in FIG. 6. Themodified ring 52 is formed of a pair of generally frustoconical shells54 and 56 which have opposed flanges 58 and 60, respectively. The lowerend of the shield 24 is clamped between the flanges 58 and 60 andsecured in place by bolts 62 which are spaced around the circumferenceof the ring 52. The support cables 16 extend through U-shaped guides 64to avoid sharply bending the cables around the underside of the ring 52.The interior of the ring 52 forms a channel for receiving the lower endof the shield 24 when the shield is not fully extended. The ring 52operates in the same manner as the ring 6, except that it does not havea buoyancy chamber.

Another modified form of the invention is illustrated in H6. 7. Thestructure of the device is substantially the same as that illustrated inFIG. 1 and includes a float ring 4' and an anchor ring 6 which issupported by cables 16. The shield 24' encloses the source of oilleakage 52. Gas is also being evolved at the source 52. The oilaccumulates in a layer 54 on the water and above the oil layer, the gasis trapped by a canopy 56 which is secured around its perimeter to thefloat ring 4, the oil is pumped out of the device through a pipe 58 anda pipe 60 is connected with the canopy 56 for drawing gas from the spaceunder the canopy. With this arrangement, both liquid and gas may bereadily isolated and removed without contaminating adjacent areas.

The device of this invention can be readily transported from onelocation to another by floating the device on the surface of the water.Furthermore, the device can be placed in service quickly over a sourceof oil leakage. The shield 24 isolates the oil and gas flow fromunderwater currents which otherwise might divert the flow of oil awayfrom the float ring 4. Accordingly, this device is particularly suitablefor areas where substantial cross-currents are encountered.

While this invention has been illustrated and described in a preferredembodiment, with several modifications, it is recognized that variationsand changes may be made therein without departing from the invention asset forth in the claims.

l claim:

1. Apparatus for confining fluid issuing from an underwater sourcewithin a flow path between the underwater source and the surface of thewater, the apparatus comprising:

buoyant means capable of supporting said apparatus at the surface of abody of water, said buoyant means including a fluid barrier having acentral opening therein for receiving fluid,

anchor means, said anchor means having a central opening therein,

hoist means mounted upon said buoyant means and connected to said anchormeans which is capable of raising and lowering said anchor meansrelative to said buoyant means while said buoyant means is floating atthe surface ofa body of water,

conduit means having a wall of flexible material and having openings atopposite ends, means connecting one end of said conduit means with saidbuoyant means in alignment with said barrier opening, the opposite endof said conduit means being connected with said anchor means inalignment with said anchor opening,

whereby the opposite end of said conduit means is supported adjacentsaid underwater source by positioning said anchor means opening oversaid source and said conduit means conducts fluid issuing from saidsource to said fluid barrier.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said anchor means includesadjustably buoyant means.

3. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said float ring includes awall extending across said one end of said shield, said wall beingsupported above normal water level for trapping gas evolved from saidsource.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said hoist means includeswinch means mounted on said buoyant means, and cable means, said anchormeans being suspended by said cable means, said winch means beingoperable to control the length of cable between said anchor means andsaid buoyant means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said barrier is in the shapeof a ring, and said anchor means is in the shape of a ring, said barrierring and said anchor ring being movable into coaxial and superimposedrelation.

6. Apparatus according to claim 7 including channel means on said anchorring, said channel means being in position for receiving said flexibleconduit wall when said anchor ring is positioned adjacent said barrierring.

7. Apparatus for confining fluid issuing from an underwater sourcewithin a path between the underwater source and the surface of thewater, the apparatus comprising:

a float ring having sufficient buoyancy to support said apparatus at thesurface of a body of water,

an anchor ring, said anchor ring having a flotation chamber therein,means for closing said flotation chamber, said anchor ring and saidfloat ring being movable into coaxial and superimposed relation,

a tubular shield having a flexible wall and being open at opposite ends,said shield being connected at one end with said float ring and beingconnected at the opposite end with said anchor ring, said tubular shieldbeing axially aligned with said rings,

said anchor ring including an annular channel having opposite sidesprojecting toward said float ring, said channel cooperating with saidfloat ring to contain said shield upon movement of said anchor ringaxially into engagement with said float ring, and

hoist means mounted upon said float ring and connected to said anchorring which is capable of raising and lowering said anchor ring axiallyrelative to said float ring while said float ring is floating at thesurface of a body of water, whereby when the anchor ring is loweredrelative to the float ring, the shield is progressively played out fromsaid channel to form a continuous conduit for confining fluid from saidunderwater source.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said hoist means includesa plurality of cables, each cable extending between said anchor ring andsaid float ring, and power winding means on said float ring forselectively changing the length of said cables between said rings.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said flotation chamberclosing means includes ports in said anchor ring, and cap meanscooperating with said ports, whereby the flotation chamber may be filledwith water for ballast by removing said cap means.

10. A method of confining fluid issuing from an underwater source to aflow path defined between the surface of the water, and a submergedsurface adjacent and surrounding that source, the method comprising:

superimposing a floating ring over said submerged surface, said floatingring having an anchor ring adjacent thereto, cable means connectedbetween said floating ring and said anchor ring, and a substantiallycompressed longitudinally extensible conduit means connected at one endto said floating ring and at the opposite end to said anchor ring,lowering said anchor ring downwardly in the water into engagement withsaid submerged surface by increasring has a buoyancy chamber thereininitially filled with gas, the lowering step including flooding saidchamber.

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the lowering step includeslowering said anchor ring by said cables after said chamber flooding.

1. Apparatus for confining fluid issuing from an underwater sourcewithin a flow path between the underwater source and the surface of thewater, the apparatus comprising: buoyant means capable of supportingsaid apparatus at the surface of a body of water, said buoyant meansincluding a fluid barrier having a central opening therein for receivingfluid, anchor means, said anchor means having a central opening therein,hoist means mounted upon said buoyant means and connected to said anchormeans which is capable of raising and lowering said anchor meansrelative to said buoyant means while said buoyant means is floating atthe surface of a body of water, conduit means having a wall of flexiblematerial and having openings at opposite ends, means connecting one endof said conduit means with said buoyant means in alignment with saidbarrier opening, the opposite end of said conduit means being connectedwith said anchor means in alignment with said anchor opening, wherebythe opposite end of said conduit means is supported adjacent saidunderwater source by positioning said anchor means opening over saidsource and said conduit means conducts fluid issuing from said source tosaid fluid barrier.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein saidanchor means includes adjustably buoyant means.
 3. Apparatus accordingto claim 9 wherein said float ring includes a wall extending across saidone end of said shield, said wall being supported above normal waterlevel for trapping gas evolved from said source.
 4. Apparatus accordingto claim 1 wherein said hoist means includes winch means mounted on saidbuoyant means, and cable means, said anchor means being suspended bysaid cable means, said winch means being operable to control the lengthof cable between said anchor means and said buoyant means.
 5. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said barrier is in the shape of a ring, andsaid anchor means is in the shape of a ring, said barrier ring and saidanchor ring being movable into coaxial and superimposed relation. 6.Apparatus according to claim 7 including channel means on said anchorring, said channel means being in position for receiving said flexibleconduit wall when said anchor ring is positioned adjacent said barrierring.
 7. Apparatus for confining fluid issuing from an underwater sourcewithin a path between the underwater source and the surface of thewater, the apparatus comprising: a float ring having sufficient buoyancyto support said apparatus at the surface of a body of water, an anchorring, said anchor ring having a flotation chamber therein, means forclosing said flotation chamber, said anchor ring and said float ringbeing movable into coaxial and superimposed relation, a tubular shieldhaving a flexible wall and being open at opposite ends, said shieldbeing connected at one end with said float ring and being connected atthe opposite end with said anchor ring, said tubular shield beingaxially aligned with said rings, said anchor ring including an annularchannel having opposite sides projecting toward said float ring, saidchannel cooperating with said float ring to contain said shield uponmovement of said anchor ring axially into engagement with said floatring, and hoist means mounted upon said float ring and connected to saidanchor ring which is capable of raising and lowering said anchor ringAxially relative to said float ring while said float ring is floating atthe surface of a body of water, whereby when the anchor ring is loweredrelative to the float ring, the shield is progressively played out fromsaid channel to form a continuous conduit for confining fluid from saidunderwater source.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein saidhoist means includes a plurality of cables, each cable extending betweensaid anchor ring and said float ring, and power winding means on saidfloat ring for selectively changing the length of said cables betweensaid rings.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said flotationchamber closing means includes ports in said anchor ring, and cap meanscooperating with said ports, whereby the flotation chamber may be filledwith water for ballast by removing said cap means.
 10. A method ofconfining fluid issuing from an underwater source to a flow path definedbetween the surface of the water, and a submerged surface adjacent andsurrounding that source, the method comprising: superimposing a floatingring over said submerged surface, said floating ring having an anchorring adjacent thereto, cable means connected between said floating ringand said anchor ring, and a substantially compressed longitudinallyextensible conduit means connected at one end to said floating ring andat the opposite end to said anchor ring, lowering said anchor ringdownwardly in the water into engagement with said submerged surface byincreasing the length of said cable means, while maintaining saidfloating ring at the surface of the water and said conduit meansextended between said floating ring and said anchor ring, whereby fluidissuing from the underwater source is confined to a flow path withinsaid conduit means.
 11. The method according to claim 10 wherein saidanchor ring has a buoyancy chamber therein initially filled with gas,the lowering step including flooding said chamber.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 11 wherein the lowering step includes lowering saidanchor ring by said cables after said chamber flooding.